The day shall declare it

If you like your art to be immersive, you still have time to check out ‘The Day Shall Declare It’, a free-form theatrical show and contemporary movement score by L.A theatre company Wilderness. The performance explores the impact that both work and money can have on our relationships.

Described as “a company of theatre makers whose body of work will define a new generation of artists” (Madani Younis, artistic director at Bush Theatre), Wilderness was formed to create theatre in LA’s many abandoned spaces. This show is being presented, in collaboration with pop-up theatre specialists Theatre Delicatessen, in one of London’s own found spaces – the former BBC studios on Marylebone High Street.

Annie Saunders and Chris Polick in ‘The Day Shall Declare It’

The transformed space, with an exceptional set design by Beata Csikmak, frames a cast of three for this intimate performance in which multiple narratives are interwoven with text from lesser known works by Tennessee Williams and Studs Terkel. Add to this the dynamic movement choreographed by award-winning Sophie Bortolussi, a recurring lead dancer for Punchdrunk, and you start to get the picture.

I had the pleasure of meeting the play’s director/performer/producer, Annie Saunders, a few years ago when she was a creative activist with Eve Ensler’s V-Day. Having returned to London, Annie explains: “When the recession hit, the personal, private question of the meaning of working – ‘what do I want to do?’ versus ‘what will I live on?’ – seemed to become immediately, drastically public. I wanted to make a piece that explored this and looked to a similar historical moment, the Great Depression, and the extensive canon of American labour plays.”

Annie Saunders and Anthony Nikolchev

This heartfelt full-length production – which follows the acclaimed short version presented as part of Bush Bazaar in 2012 – deals with the economic frustration felt by so many, while “echoing the responses of the current moment”, explains Annie. These responses include Occupy Wall Street, one that “took on a powerful and spontaneous choreography of its own”.

Add this piece of immersive theatre to your diary this month and you may well be justified putting the ticket purchase through expenses.